Five University of Maryland students investigate the negative effects of the Keystone Pipeline implementation

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The Keystone Pipeline has clearly caused much turmoil in the midwest. Let us reiterate why the Keystone Pipeline XL must be stopped.

The Keystone XL Pipeline will not create the jobs that it says it will. They skewed their statistics, and will not make all their hires locally. The jobs also will only be temporary, and they would go from over 42,000 jobs to only 50. thats an 89 percent decrease. Overall, TransCanada will not create jobs and give such a great benefit to the United States unemployment rates.

The Keystone XL Pipeline is ultimately dangerous. Tar sand emissions will increase cancer rates, and ultimately harm all of the populations that are near the Pipeline. The decreased air quality from emissions also leads to higher risk of asthma and heart attacks. Not only will more disease be caused, but it will also be caused in areas that are lower income, where access to proper treatment will be harder to come by and may be unattainable due to financial costs. As a country, how can we essentially commission death to our fellow countrymen?

We already said how dangerous it is, but also we must look at the effect on what will happen in the case of a leak in the Pipeline. Ultimately, these oil spills could contaminate major water sources and kill entire populations of towns along the Pipeline, because of the sheer amount of oil and contamination of water sources. It also will ruin many areas of the country that will not have the funds to recover and rebuild.

Gas prices will increase in the midwest, not decrease. They will ultimately rise .20 to .40 cents per gallon, which will have a negative effect on the agricultural and commercial transportation industry. Overall, this will cause more problems then it will actually help the economy.

This leads us to the real question: if it was your town sitting on the path of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, would you still support it?

We know that we would not. The Keystone Pipeline XL must be stopped, and ultimately these long delays imposed on building them will hopefully lead to its demise. As we end our time blogging, we would like to thank our avid readers and urge you all to continue following the news on the Keystone Pipeline XL, so we can ensure that the consequences become problems that Americans never actually have to face.

So as we talked about last week, we all know that the Keystone Pipeline XL project has not been completely truthful about how the project will increase jobs. Well you know what else they are not being completely truthful about?

Effects on the people surrounding the pipeline

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Now, we all know that this is TransCanada’s project. One would think that TransCanada would want to ensure the safety of the people in Canada. To start this project, they have begun building in Canada. “Alberta, Canada — where the tar sands are extracted — and where a rare type of cancer has increased by 30 percent since the extraction of the tar sands began”(Thinkprogress.org).

How do tar sands cause diseases like cancer? Well, refining tar sands is like refining oil, but dirtier, and yields higher emissions of harmful gasses. These harmful gasses will effects everyone living along the pipeline, which will mean higher polluted areas.According to Friends of the Earth, “Communities near the refineries where the Keystone XL pipeline terminates, many of them low-income and communities of color, already live with dangerously high levels of air pollution. The Keystone XL pipeline would further exacerbate the heavy burden of pollution and environmental injustices these communities confront.” (Friends of the Earth)

So, would one not think that if you saw this trend, would you not want to take a stand? Well, Dr. John O’Connor did. He noticed that statistics for rare cancer had shot up 400 times more then normal in towns downstream of the pipeline. let me repeat.

400 times!!

He immediate urged for a study to be done to ensure that if this was accurate, something could be done. (desmogblog.com) He has been quoted in this blog saying…

“I’m just here as an advocate for my patients, I have absolutely no political agenda,” O’Connor said. “There are piles of papers, peer-reviewed published scientific studies have been done that reveal a burden on the environment … this burden includes a sizable amount of carcinogens that get into the food chain, into the water and the air. These toxins have been linked with cancer” (desmogblog.com).

However, ultimately Dr. O’Connors study was not completed. Additionally, the Canadian government tried to cover it upby calling him a fraud and saying that he was trying to cause alarm. It was not until a study was later conducted that he was proven innocent and correct. So now, think about all the areas that this Pipeline will cover. In what way can you say that causing such harmful emissions in all these areas is worth creating this pipeline?

It really makes you wonder, if TransCanada is covering up the fact that this pipeline will cause harm to everyone around it, and giving out misconceptions about the jobs it creates, what else will this pipeline harm?

Hi everybody, my name is Allyson Gruber. I am a junior management and communications major at the University of Maryland, and originally came from New Jersey.

When I learned about the Keystone Pipeline XL project, I was immediately drawn to the cause because of the impact it will have on the environment. Entire communities will be affected by toxic emissions from the pipeline. These emissions will contaminate the air, and even local water sources. This will increase illness, in areas where people cannot always afford to seek medical attention. People will develop breathing problems, and sometimes it may even cause cancer. None of these people deserve to have their area desolated by the government.

We hope that by creating this blog, we can educate people on why the Keystone Pipeline XL should not be continued forward. Until next time lovely readers!

Hi, everyone! My name is Hannah Rosenberg and I’m a junior Communication major from Silver Spring, MD. This is a picture of my left cheek repping an anti-Keystone XL Pipeline sticker at a recent protest. Want to know how I got here? Read my story:

On March 2, I headed to Georgetown University via the Metro (and cabbed the extra 3 miles from Foggy Bottom) to join a group numbering upwards of 1000 in protest against the Keystone XL Pipeline. I’d never been to an environmental action. Students- my own age- had organized and brought this to life.

Coming in, my exposure to the facts fit into one of three categories: news coverage, youtube videos or conversations with my friends and family. When we reached Lafayette Square, I added a forth category. Speeches were made that invoked every emotion from anger, to passion to fear. Besides the environmental devastation that would be brought on by the pipeline’s installment, what really struck me was the type of communities that would be affected.

One protestor’s sign read, “The people affected by the pipeline can’t afford to be here.” I feel with complete conviction that this pipeline wouldn’t even be considered if the communities it ran through were filled with affluent, wealthy people. It’s infuriating to think that our President, our Government would allow this to pass because it can. Because the people who are affected don’t have the influence to stop it. They need to be heard, and quickly! This issue is actively unfolding, so it can’t wait. Consider signing the petition below to convince President Obama to go speak to the people of Nebraska–one of the states that Keystone XL’s would run right through. Even if you’re not sure exactly how you feel about this issue, the people who will experience the most immediate effects, the people who are already experiencing the effects, do, so let them be heard. Here’s the link: http://boldnebraska.org/obama

The Keystone XL Pipeline should not be a partisan issue. It should not even be in contention. Behind the propaganda is the realization of perhaps the worst insult to our environment and to our communities in a time where we are entirely capable of assessing its potential harm. Areas immediately surrounding the pipeline will be subject to toxic emissions and contamination that can lead to illness, aggravate asthma and even heighten the risk of cancerous cell development. It is so far from being a solution. This video is worth watching; it breaks down propaganda and lays out some basic facts. Get informed!